A Second Chance
by kmylove
Summary: Torn between her destined future with Mamoru and her feelings for Seiya, a tragedy gives Usagi a second chance at finding out who does her heart really belong to. Teaser for the sequel added :
1. Answer For Me

_This is the first time I venture myself into writing a Sailor Moon fanfiction, so I hope it's not a failed start. Before anyone accuses me of anything, I am pro-Mamoru but I don't dislike the Seiya-Usagi couple either. I hope you enjoy reading it._

_Summary: _Torn between her destined future with Mamoru and her feelings for Seiya, a tragedy gives Usagi a second chance at finding out who does her heart really belong to.

_Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters :)_

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**Chapter 1 – Answer For Me**

„I don't think I've ever been this happy to be here before" Rei exclaimed as she and the girls entered the Crown Fruit Parlor. They had just finished their first day of school after the great battle against Galaxia and Minako had come up with the idea of meeting there to have a small celebration in honor of the first day when they resumed their normal life. The girls agreed to it in an instant, specially Usagi, who looked forward at tasting the sweets she loved so much, in company of the friends which she had almost lost for ever during the battle.

The five girls picked their usual sitting place in the shop and ordered their favorites. It was times like this, after a harsh battle, that they enjoyed being together more than ever.

„I'm so happy everything is over it. Hopefully this peace last longer so I can finally focus only on studying.

„Ami-chan! You're terrible. You should really enjoy life more. Me, I want to resume my dream of becoming an idol." Minako started day dreaming, imagining herself being a famous singer, giving out autographs to Usagi, Ami, Rei and Makoto.

Usagi looked at them and smiled. She was happy to see that her friends didn't lose their dreams, that they got over what happened to them in the fight. Seeing them like that, having Mamoru back at her side, that had been Usagi's dream, and now she was living it. She couldn't wish for more.

„And now, due to popular request, we give you the big hit of the Three Lights: Nagareboroshi He, Search For Your Love!" an excited voice could be heard on the radio which set the mood in the parlor. As the song started, the girls stopped their idle chit chat and listened.

„It seems that The Three Lights will still be popular for a while, even though people think they broke up." Makoto leaned her head on her arms and continued: „I wonder how they're doing..."

Usagi, who had been busy eating a cake, stopped when she heard the song and Makoto's words.

„Usagi-chan, I still can't believe you told Seiya you'd be friends forever the other day."

Rei was just being her usual self, trying to tease Usagi, expecting her to reply back and start an argument, like she always did. Instead, Usagi stood quiet, staring at her glass of soda. Drawn in by the lyrics, she remembered the departure of Princess Kakyuu and the Starlights. _„He will never forget me... Seiya..." _

„Really now Usagi-chan, I can't believe you didn't get what he meant by that" Minako joined Rei at teasing Usagi, winking at the raven-haired girl.

They all expected a reply from Usagi but the reply never came. Usagi just let head down, to hide the tears that she was fighting to keep from falling. Three words from the lyrics kept echoing in her head, _„answer for me"_, combining themselves with Seiya's image as he was kneeling in the cold rain, as a question slipped from his mouth: _„Am I not good enough?" _She never answered, she couldn't, she shouldn't have so she didn't. And it was only now, when her friends teased her, that she realized that she missed her last chance at answering to Seiya's question.

Without saying a word she got up and ran out of the parlor, heading home.

„Usagi-chan!" Rei called her, trying to go after her, but Makoto stopped her.

„No, she probably wants to be alone. She's been through so much..." Rei sighed and sat back down. Mako was probably right, but still, Usagi's reaction worried her. She looked towards the door and saw Mamoru coming in, with a worried look on his face.

„Mamoru-san, is anything wrong?" Rei asked as he came close to their table.

„Rei-chan, I don't know. I was coming down the street and Usagi came running by me without even noticing me. I called her but she didn't even seem to hear me. She looked more air-headed than usual. I was hoping that you guys could tell me what happened to her."

„We're not sure either Mamoru-san" Ami replied. „We were talking, Rei and Minako teased her and all of the sudden she got up and left without saying a word."

„Teased her? What could you guys say to make her run out like that?" Mamoru was surprised to hear that his odango-atama reacted like that to the fact that her friends teased her. After all, they always did that and they'd just laugh about it. It was the way to show their friendship.

„Nothing special Mamoru-san, the usual: her apetite, her grades..." Makoto replied instead of Ami. She knew Ami might be honest enough to tell Mamoru that Usagi was being teased about Seiya and she suspected it might not be wise to tell him that.

„Yeah, Mamoru-san. I don't think you should worry too much. Usagi-chan probably hasn't gotten completely over what happened the past weeks, so she's more senzitive than usual" Rei continued. She hoped Mamoru believed her, because deep in her sould she wasn't too convinced of what she had said.

Mamoru sighed. They were probably right, Usagi had been through a very hard time, but knwoing her, she would surely be her normal self in no time.

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Usagi entered her house and rushed upstairs, locking herself into her room. She completely ignored Luna, who greeted her when she came in and she almost slammed the door in her face.

She went towards a shelf and picked up a picture which had kept her company for the past months, a picture that showed her, Mamoru and Chibiusa happy together. As she looked at the picture, all the tears she kept back on the way home started flooding her face. She threw the picture against the opposite wall, causing the frame and glass to shatter into pieces, then she threw herself on her bed, crying desperately and inconsolably.


	2. Remorseful Tears

_Here is the second chapter of the story, hope everyone enjoys reading it :)_

_Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters_

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**Chapter 2 – Remorseful Tears**

The sun was setting over the horizon of Tokyo city. Rei was glad she was finally heading for home. All those after-school activities she had joined were consuming a lot of her free time so recently she was seriously considering quitting one or two of the clubs, so she could spend more time at the shrine, as a maiden.

As she began climbing the stairs that took her to the Hikawa Shrine, she noticed the figure of a man standing down on one of the top stairs, but the dim sunlight didn't allow her to see how it was until she was a few stairs away from him.

„Mamoru-san?"

„Hello, Rei-san. Gomen, I came unannounced, but I need to talk to you. Do you have some spare minutes?"

„No need to apologize Mamoru-san, please, come in."

Rei led Mamoru into the room where the study groups used to gather and invited him to make himself at home while she prepared some tea. His presence there intrigued her, specially since he looked very sad and worried. She could already imagine who he wanted to talk about.

After serving the tea she sat down at the opposite part of the table. She didn't know what to say, so she just waited for Mamoru to begin, a bit embarrassed about the awkward silence.

Mamoru took the cup of tea between his hands and looked at the green liquid. He sighed and broke the silence:

„Rei-san, I wanted to talk to you about Usagi."

„Usagi?" What Rei suspected was confirmed. She let her eyes down into the ground and continued: „Has something happened between the two of you, Mamoru-san?"

„I don't know that myself. For the past week Usako hasn't really been herself. She never calls me, she barely seems happy when she sees me. I feel like she's forcing herself to smile and look happy. When I kiss her, she is cold and her mind seems absent. I asked her if something is wrong, but she just faked a smile and told me that everything's fine." Mamoru paused and looked at Rei. „Rei-san, you are friends. Did she tell you anything?"

Rei didn't lift her eyes from the ground. She didn't know if she should be honest with Mamoru or if she should just lie to him, so he wouldn't be more worried. Just when she decided what to reply, Mamoru spoke again:

„Everything just makes me wonder... my absence... it must have affected her and probably... probably she doesn't love me any more." He sighed and looked away, thinking that Rei's silence was probably a bad sign.

„What? That can't be true, Mamoru-san. Usagi-chan's happiness when you returned can't be expressed into words. The truth is, neither me nor the girls know what is wrong with Usagi-chan. From that day at Crown's she started acting weird. She has isolated herself from us. She doesn't seem to be mad at us for anything, but she doesn't talk to us unless we start a conversation, and even when we do, she's pretty much monosyllabic. We'd like to know what's wrong with her just as much as you do, but every time we ask she's either quiet or she tells us that nothing's wrong."

„Rei-san, onegai, be honest. What happened that day? What did you girls tell her?" Mamoru looked into Rei's eyes, waiting for an honest answer. Rei blushed and looked away. She knew that it was best to be honest with Mamoru, but on the other hand, being honest probably meant hurting his feelings.

„Mamoru-san... well... you see... Minako-chan and I... started teasing Usagi-chan about what she said to Seiya when he left. We thought she would just get angry and make a scene, like she always does when we tease, but her reaction took us by surprise. We..."

„Seiya?" Mamoru interrupted Rei. He knew very little about the Three Lights and everything that happened between them and the senshi, but the little he knew and the little he saw allowed him to understand that Seiya would have wanted more than a friendship with Usagi. Now that Rei had told him that detail, it was getting clear what was the cause of Usagi's behaviour.

„Seiya... I understand now. Thank you, Rei-san." Mamoru got up and walked out of the room, visibly sad. Rei felt sorry for telling him, but she didn't know what lie to invent. She hoped that if Mamoru knew what happened, he would be able to talk to Usagi and find out what was going on in her mind. She was incredibly worried about Usagi as well. Luna had told her that during the past days Usagi barely ate and slept; she would often wake up crying or spend the nights staring at the sky.

„_She can't be like this because of Seiya... can she?"  
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The sun had now completely hidden itself, giving its spot on the sky to the cold moon. The moon was sad that night and it didn't show itself for too long, as it got covered by dark clouds and a cold downpour started.

„_The sky is crying... Just like it was crying that day when..."_ Usagi hid her head into her pillow and started crying. Though she came back from school hours ago, she still hadn't changed from her uniform. She had spent all afternoon laying in bed, lost in her world of thoughts, as tears occasionally came running down her face.

„Usagi, phone call for you, it's Mamoru-kun."

„Could you please tell him I'm asleep, mom?" Usagi replied, squeezing the pillow tighter.

Luna walked into the room and sat on the bed next to her.

„Usagi-chan, what's wrong? It's not like you not to take a call from Mamoru-san. Usagi-chan, you spend your days crying, you spend your nights crying. You're not thinking about... him... are you?"

Without lifting her head from the pillow, Usagi whispered a reply, her voice chocked with tears: „What if I am, Luna? What if I am?"

„Usagi-chan, stop acting silly. You have to stop thinking about him, you have Mamoru-san, you have a future with him..."

„Stop it, Luna!" Usagi cried. Before Luna could think about saying anything else, Usagi got up and ran out of her room, downstairs and got out of the house, slamming the door on her way out. Luna ran after her, but she couldn't stop her. The black cat could only notice that, despite the heavy rain, Usagi didn't take an umbrella or an overcoat.


	3. Pain

_I really wanted to get this chapter over with in 2008, and thankfully I've achieved my goal. I hope it turned out OK :) _

_Happy New Year everyone._

_The usual disclaimer applies._

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**Chapter 3 – Pain  
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Just like the rain fell from the sky, tears of sorrow fell from her eyes. Usagi wandered aimlessly down the nearly deserted streets. The weather had scared most of the people inside their houses, but she didn't care about it. She stopped in a small park and sat on a bench, abandoning herself to her memories.

The cold drops of rain reminded her of that day... that day when she couldn't take it any more, when Mamo-chan's absence became overwhelming, when a red rose made her solitude unbearable... that day when he asked her a question which made her realize that she wasn't alone, that she had slowly fallen in love with Seiya, without even realizing it. Seiya had been there for her all that time, he put his life at risk to save her and he was showing her all of his feelings. He was good enough but she couldn't say it since her friends were watching them. She hoped she would have another chance to do it, but she was wrong, she never had it. They had to part with a silly promise from her side, a silly promise she made in order to disguise her true feelings from everyone, even from herself. She never imagined that it would be that hard to suppress what she felt, that his absence would become overwhelming. She almost got used to the idea that he wouldn't be around any more until she heard their song, their call for their Princess.

The sight of Usagi on that bench was a very sad one. Her clothes were soaking wet and her odangos became loose, her wet blond tresses sticking to her clothes as she looked towards the sky, hoping that somewhere, between the clouds, she could spot his star.

„Koneko-chan, what are you doing out at this time on such a weather?"

Usagi realized she couldn't see the sky any more as someone held an umbrella above her head. She looked and saw Haruka kneeling next to her, holding her umbrella to shelter her from the rain. She faked a smile but didn't reply to her questions.

„Look at you, you're soaking wet, you're going to catch a cold. Come, I'll drive you..." Before she could finish her sentence, Usagi got up on her feet and moved away in the opposite direction.

„Don't worry, I'm fine, I'm..." Usagi's body contradicted her words. When she got up she felt very dizzy and her vision was getting very blurry. She tried making a few steps, but her feet felt numb. Just as she was trying to repeat her lie, her vision turned completely black and her body started falling down. Thankfully, Haruka's good reflexes allowed her to catch Usagi before she hit the ground.

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Two faces kept overlapping in Usagi's mind. Mamoru kept being replaced by Seiya, Tuxedo Mask by Sailor Star Fighter. Even in her dreams her doubts haunted her, that is why recently she barely slept at all.

Slowly she was regaining consciousness. She was feeling warm and her forehead and cheeks were burning. She heard voices but couldn't understand what they were saying or recognize them.

„I've called her house and announced she'll be sleeping over. I didn't have the heart to tell them something's wrong."

„You did well, Michiru. I called Mamoru-san and asked him if he knew what was wrong with her and he said he is coming over."

Usagi thought she heard Mamoru's name so she opened her eyes to see three familiar faces above her, looking at her with great concern.

„Haruka-san...Michiru-san...Setsuna-san... What happened?"

„Koneko-chan, don't scare me like that again. You swooned as you were about to walk away on my offer. I brought you to our house, I didn't want to scare your parents. You have a fever, hopefully it goes away by morning and doesn't turn into anything more serious." For the first time in a long time, Haruka's voice was soft and she was smiling at Usagi.

„Thank you, Haruka-san, but I should go back home" Usagi replied, trying to get up.

„It's OK for you to stay Usagi, I called your parents and told them you're sleeping over" Michiru informed her, gently pushing her back on the bed.

„That's right koneko-chan. I called Mamoru-san and he said he's coming over as well" Haruka continued.

„Mamo-chan? I should get going." Usagi's eyes became full of tears and distant. She got out of bed and tried to get out of the room, but dizziness took over her again and she lost her balance and landed straight into Haruka's arms.

The girls looked at her, surprised by her reaction. Did Usagi actually want to avoid meeting her loved one, or did they misunderstand it?

Haruka was expecting Usagi to push her away, but instead her kitten leaned her head on her chest, as if she was trying to find shelter in her embrace. She gave Michiru a surprised glance but her astonishment grew bigger when she realized that Usagi's body was shaking violently. She was crying like she had never seen her cry.

„Usagi... What's wrong? You're worrying us..."

„Haruka-san, tell me ... why?" Usagi began with a whisper but she raised her voice as she continued „Mamo-chan is back at my side, I know he never left me, I know he never stopped loving me... I should be happy, right? I am happy but... if I am... than why? Why do I still feel this big emptiness inside my heart? Why does my heart hurt so much every time I remember him, every time I think that he left and I'm never going to see him again? Why do I miss him so much, Haruka, why? Seiya..."

Haruka was too shocked to speak. Usagi was in that state because of Seiya? What she had feared had come true? She was afraid Usagi might develop feelings for him and end up suffering, that is why she always tried to keep them away from each other. And yet it happened and now Usagi was feeling miserable. She was angry at herself, angry at Usagi, angry at Seiya.

Michiru and Setsuna were equally surprised. Soon Michiru's shocked face turned into one expressing disapproval and she broke the silence.

„Usagi, stop acting silly. You have Mamoru-san, you can't be thinking about Seiya."

Usagi pushed herself away from Haruka and wiped her tears away. It was a useless gesture though, as more came down from her eyes to replace them. She looked down into the ground and started laughing.

„Acting silly... that's what I always do, isn't it? I'm just silly Usagi..." she clenched her fists and continued: „Everyone just laughed and tought I was silly and naive when I told Seiya we'd be friends forever. What else could I say? Was I supposed to say that he is good enough? That I wanted him to stay? Should I have done that just to prove that I'm not just a silly girl who can't figure out a man's feelings for her?"

Usagi looked up at Michiru, her eyes full of hatred. Michiru couldn't believe it, Usagi had never looked at her that way, not even back in the days when she disapproved with their method of finding the Talismans, with their intention of killing Hotaru, not even when she and Uranus attacked her.

Setsuna decided it was her turn to try and return Usagi to reasoning so she drew closer to her.

„Usagi, please, stop acting like this. You and Mamoru have a future together as Neo-Queen Serenity and King Endymion. The two of you have a duty towards this planet..."

„Stop it!" Usagi shouted. „Everyone thinks they can decide things for me, I can't take it any more! I'm tired of being reminded of this future I have with Mamoru, I'm sick of it! I'm tired of people reminding me that my duty as Sailor Moon, as Serenity, is to be at Mamo-chan's side! I want to be able to take my own decisions without anyone interfering and reminding me what my duty is! I'm sick of it! I wish I never knew what my future was, so I can be free at taking my own decisions! I hate the day Chibiusa came here! If it hadn't been for her, I would have never known! I don't want this future if I can't have a word to say about it! I don't want it! I hate it!"

A heavy hand fell on Usagi's cheek and stopped her from saying more things which she probably didn't mean from her heart. Haruka felt sorry for slapping her in the state she was in, but it was probably the only way to bring her back to earth.

Usagi gave her the same hateful look she had given Michiru and Setsuna, before bursting into another fit of uncontrollable tears. She pushed Haruka away and ran out of the house, ignoring the fact that she was only wearing an old night gown of Michiru and that the rain seemed to fall with an even greater intensity.

Between the drops of rain and her own tears she could barely see anything in front of her, so she just dashed in the middle of the road to cross the street, ignoring the fact that a red car was just steering around the corner right in her direction. The driver only noticed there was someone in the road when it was too late to avoid or hit the breaks. Usagi felt a powerful hit that sent her flying through the air a few feet, slamming her against the wet and cold pavement.

Haruka, Michiru and Setsuna ran out of the house after her, but they were too late to catch up and stop her and could only witness the accident with horror. They rushed to Usagi, calling her name, but she could no longer hear them. Boiling with anger Haruka rushed to the car to avoid that the driver would run away from the scene, but when she looked through the windshield and saw the driver's shocked face, her blood froze in her veins and tears started falling from her eyes. Could fate really be this cruel?


	4. I Couldn't Protect You

_I'm not too happy with how this chapter came out, no matter how many times I tried to re-write it. I hope I'm luckier for chapter 5, which might take a while to be written, as I'm facing a bit of a writer's block, and I'll also have some exams to worry about in the next days. If I get past my block today, chapter 5 might be up tomorrow or saturday ^_^_

_The usual disclaimers apply._

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**Chapter 4 – I Couldn't Protect You**

In a hospital waiting room, Haruka sat down in a chair, while Michiru stood up behind her, holding her shoulders to comfort her.

Haruka kept her hands together, as if she was praying and occasionally a sigh would slip from her mouth. Occasionally a tear would drop from her eyes, as she remembered everything Usagi had told them that night and the way they trated her.

She felt guilty for everything. Besides Michiru, Usagi was the only other person for which Haruka would have gladly given her life to protect, the only person for which she would have ensured happiness even at the cost of her own. And now she was realizing that the wish to protect her and see her happy had blinded her so much that she ended up being the most fierce in keeping Usagi away from what would have made her happy. She felt the she had an importand contribution into building a huge snowball which had suddenly went downhill, probably destroying two destinies on its way down.

She heard rushed footsteps coming their way and the familiar voices of the four inner senshi, but she didn't lift her head, leaving Michiru, who managed to remain more calm, to discuss with them.

„How is she?" Rei asked, her voice chocking with tears. Almost at the same time Minako asked between sobs: „How are they?" Makoto continued: „I can't understand it, I just can't. How could this happen?"

„I'll go find my mother, hopefully I can find out something from her" Ami whispered, running away without waiting for a reply.

Michiru sighed and began replying to their questions:

„We don't know anything about Usagi-chan yet. Even her family still awaits for information from the doctors. We don't know if she's still..."

„Don't say that, Michiru. Koneko-chan is stronger than we think" Haruka interrupted, putting her hand on Michiru's hand.

„What about him?" Rei whispered.

Haruka replied without lifting her eyes from the marble floor of the hospital:

„You can imagine... he's devastated to say the least, he's in a state of shock. Setsuna is with him, she's trying to calm him down before the doctors decide to sedate him."

„But how could it happen? How could he...?" Makoto voiced her surprise once again. She still hoped she had just misunderstood things. When Michiru told her on the phone that a car had run over Usagi, her first reaction was to say that she would kill the careless driver who did that. But then Michiru told her who the driver was and she couldn't believe it. She dropped the phone, got into some street clothes and ran for the hospital.

„It seemed like the logical thing to do to call Mamoru-san and ask him to come by and be by Usagi's side since something was obviously wrong with her. Little did we imagine that things would precipitate like that in such a short time and she'd run out into the street like that... that she'd just run into the middle of the street just when Mamoru-san was steering around the corner..." Michiru shook her head to chase away the image of Usagi being hit by Mamoru's car. It was far too painful to remember it.

„He had no way to avoid her, really. It happened so suddenly that he didn't even have time to think about steering away or hitting the breaks. I don't blame him, I doubt I could have avoided her either if I were in the driver's seat." Haruka couldn't blame him, she could only pitty him. Her first impulse as she walked towards the car that hit Usagi was to drag out the driver and beat him senseless for not paying attention to the road. To see Mamoru's horrified face behind the windshield seemed surreal. Over time the fates of Mamoru and Usagi only seemed to reserve them bad things, but this was by far the worst that could happen. It almost seemed like their love was cursed. Instead of beating the driver, Haruka could only help Mamoru get out of the car and go to Usagi, she could only try to encourage him to pull himself together for her sake, telling him that is was not his fault.

„Minna, onegai, not a word about who the driver is to anyone, specially Usagi's family. We told everyone it was a hit and run and that Mamoru arrived soon after the accident, it's better this way" Michiru pleaded.

„Haruka-san, Michiru-san, please, tell us, what was Usagi doing at your house? What made her run away like that?" Minako's eyes looked straight into Michiru's, begging for an answer. However the answer came from Haruka, who spoke without lifting her eyes from the ground. She told the girls how she found Usagi in the park, the state she was in and how she fainted in her arms.

„Usagi-chan... She's been acting so strange for the past week..." Rei sobbed. „What happened to her? Where is our friend? Why did she isolate herself from us?"

Michiru's blunt and cold reply came down as a bolt of lightning:

„Seiya Kou"

„Seiya?" the voices of the inner senshi replied at the same time. They imagined he might be the cause for Usagi's weird behaviour, but they hoped they would be wrong. Their eyes turned down to the ground, paying attention to Haruka, which had begun speaking. They didn't hear the footsteps behind them.

„Our Koneko-chan is so confused... oh, so confused... She says she loves Mamoru, but at the same time she says she loves Seiya Kou, that she misses him and wants him back at her side. She hates that we've all just pushed the two of them away without letting her decide what she feels, she said she is tired of being reminded that she has to be with Mamoru because of their past and their future. I can't really blame her in the end. All we did was trying to keep her and Seiya apart. We decided they shouldn't be together and acted as such, ignoring her feelings completely. She's not sure about anything any more. She was saying that she hates knowing her future... I slapped her to make her stop saying such things and she ran away...Mamoru-san!" Haruka lifted her eyes from the ground to see Mamoru and Setsuna standing there.

All the girls turned their head towards the raven haired man. His deep blue eyes were red from all the tears they had shed. He crashed into a chair, with an empty look in his eyes.

„Seiya... Kou?" That was all he could force himself to say. He couldn't blame Usagi for developing feelings for another man while he had been away, he couldn't have been so selfish. If only she had told him how she felt... but now, now it was probably too late for anything. He clenched his fists but didn't cry. He couldn't, he had no more tears left.

„Minna, I've talked to my mother" Ami whispered, coming towards them. The look on her face betrayed the fact that she wasn't about to give them good news.

Everyone looked at Ami, waiting for her to continue.

„It seems Usagi was lucky enough and there is no internal damage. No broken bones either, she got away with just scratches and bruises but..."

„But what Ami?" Setsuna urged her to continue.

„... but it seems she hit her head very seriously when she hit the ground. The doctors are worried about it. Usagi... she is in a very deep coma and they're very pessimistic about her chances of waking up..."

The girls' eyes were full of tears and none of them could say anything. None could believe that their dearest friend was in such a serious state and none could even imagine that they might lose her.

After a few minutes, a voice full of pain broke the silence:

„Seiya... we should call Seiya back. He should be on her side in case... in case..." the sight of the hospital turned black in front of him and a piercing pain in his head and his heart made his body turn limp and fall from the chair, on the cold marble floor.


	5. A Shooting Star

_I'm back with chapter 5 sooner than I expected. To be honest, I cheated a bit. This and chapter 6 (which is not written yet) were supposed to be just one chapter, but then I realized that it would a lot of time before typing it all up and that it would become far too long and everyone would lose patience reading it._

_My cheating doesn't stop here, I'm afraid. Although I'm going by the anime facts, I've brought in some details from the manga to help along. I will explain things for those that haven't read the manga in the note that follows the chapter._

_I'd like to thank **Diantha Glitter **for helping me get past a writer's block._

_I'd also like to thank **xXAnimeFictionXx**, **MoonPrincessNece** and **Sailor Novae** for their reviews which encouraged me to update things faster than I normally would. _

_I'd like to apologize to the Starlights and to their fans if I completely destroyed them in this first brief appearance._

_Onwards with the story, remembering that the usual disclaimers apply._

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**Chapter 5 – A Shooting Star**

„Rei-san, Ami-san... how is Mamoru doing?" Setsuna asked when she noticed that the girl was returning to the waiting room.

„He's awake now. He's feeling better..." Rei stopped realizing that she had used a word which was far from describing the way he felt.

„It was nothing serious, the doctors said he was exhausted because of too much emotional stress in a very short time. He is with Usagi now. Visits are not allowed yet, but I asked my mother to convince the doctors to make an exception."

„Ami-san, you shouldn't have done it. He's probably going to use his energy to help Usagi and it might be too much for him" Setsuna scolded her.

„We didn't have the heart to stop him. Before he entered the room... he told us that he meant it when he said he wants us to call Seiya-kun back, but..."

„... but the truth is that we have no idea how to do it" Ami interrupted the miko priestess.

Haruka sighed and got up from the chair she had been sitting in ever since they arrived at the hospital.

„There is a way" she spoke before turning around to Michiru and whispering: „Ironic, isn't it? I wanted him away, now I have to call him back. I'd better leave before dawn." Haruka gave Michiru a peck on the cheek and turned towards the inner senshi, whose looks betrayed the fact that they had no idea about what Haruka was planning to do.

„Onegai, tell Mamoru-san that I'm going to get Seiya back and I'll be as fast as I can."

„But Haruka-san, where are you going, how do you plan to get him back?" Makoto asked.

„I don't have time to explain I'm afraid, I'll leave it to Michiru or Setsuna. I can only say I'm going home" she replied as she walked towards the hospital exit.

„Home? I don't get it. First she says she's going to get Seiya back here and now she's going home?" Rei asked Michiru in a visibly irritated tone.

Michiru smiled and looked upwards. In her mind she could vaguely remember that home from another life.

„It's not that home she was talking about. She's going to the true home of a senshi."

* * *

Haruka drove until she reached the Juban Park, a place which was surely deserted at that late time in the night, although the rain had stopped. She looked for a more hidden place, well-lit by the moonlight and as she drew her henshin pen out of her pocket, her voice broke through the silence of the night:

„Uranus Crystal Power, Make-up!"

Within less than a minute, Sailor Uranus stood under the pale moonlight. Raising her henshin pen above her head she called out:

„Miranda Castle, grant me your power! Planet of the wind, Uranus, grant me your power!" The senshi tiara on her forehead daded away, showing her planetary symbol glowing with a blue light which soon covered her like an aura.

„Sailor Teleport!" With that last call the blue aura became one with Sailor Uranus, turning into a beam which disappeared into the night sky within the blink of an eye.

* * *

When the blue light faded, Sailor Uranus found herself at the entrance of that which she had earlier called her home. She raised her eyes and looked at the swirled upwards structure of the Miranda Castle, her home, in which she had led an existence of solitude as a guardian of the solar system in her past life during the Silver Millennium era. In a strange way she missed that place where she had lived a lonely life for so much time.

The Uranus symbol on her forehead glowed again and a flash of light came out of the castle, transporting Sailor Uranus to the castle's most important room: the control and communication center. It was from that room that she kept an eye on outer space activity and also on the solar system she had the duty to protect. A complicated system of computers allowed her to surveil the other solar planets and to communicate with alien solar systems and galaxies.

She drew close to the numerous monitors in front of her and pushed a few buttons on a control panel. After a few moments a voice greeted her and a blurred secured image was formed on a monitor.

„You have accessed the communication system of Planet Kinmoku. Please decline your identity."

„Carrying the protection of the planet of wind, Uranus, I am the soldier of the sky, Sailor Uranus. I trust you with an urgent message for her Majesty Princess Kakyuu, on behalf of his Majesty Prince Endymion, ruler of the Golden Kindom of Elysion."

* * *

„Don't tell me you're love sick too, Healer. One of us is enough, really..."

Healer jumped to her feet, startled by Maker's voice. She was standing on the ledge of a fountain in the garden of Kinmoku's royal palace, wearing an elegant green dress, which matched the colour of her eyes perfectly.

Healer wasn't love sick, she was remembering the day of their return on Kinmoku. When they landed they all expected to find the planet in ruins, as they had left it, but instead of ruins the most beautiful scenery greeted them. The planet, the people, eveything was in perfect condition, just like they used to be before Galaxia attacked them. The only reminescence of the tragedy that it had been through were the memories deeply engraved into everybody's heart, but hopefully those would heal in time. When they saw everything, none of them could hold their tears of joy. She snapped out of that memory as her earlier worries invaded her soul again.

„How is Fighter?"

„Like she has been all these days, she's sulking in her room."

Healer frowned when she heard Maker's reply. Maker sat down next to Healer. She was wearing a similar dress, only that hers had a violet colour.

„Is it only me or does she seem to be even more depressed today? Do you think it has anything to do with that dream she had last night?" Healer sighed.

„I don't know, but she surely needs to learn to control herself when she has nightmares. It's a surprise she didn't wake up the entire palace with that scream." Healer chuckled at Maker's answer, but soon her green eyes turned sad again.

„I wonder if her nightmare was caused by the same thing that made my senses go crazy and wake up."

„Did you feel something, Healer?"

Healer nodded. „I'm not sure what it was, it was different from what I felt when stars were dying by Galaxia's hand. It was different but at the same time similar. As if a very powerful star vanished or is in great pain. Then Fighter woke up screaming her name..."

„Do you think that what you felt has to do with her?" Maker inquired in a worried tone.

„I don't know..." Healer sighed. „All I know is that it's unfair that Fighter is suffering so much. She never saw her as more than a friend, and yet she built her hopes up. Now she is there, happy by her boyfriend's side, while she is here, feeling miserable."

„We can't know for sure that she's happy, can we? What if she misses her too? What if she feels the same way? Maybe she just chose what everyone wanted her to chose: to stay with her boyfriend..."

„Even so, it still is unfair!" Healer interrupted Maker, raising her voice. „She wouldn't miss her, she would miss Seiya Kou, the man. Even if Fighter's love wasn't one sided, who do you think Usagi loves? The real Seiya or Seiya the man?"

„Fighter..."

Healer and Maker recognized the voice of their princess and turned around. Their jaw dropped when they saw Fighter standing closely behind them. By the look of her face and the tears in her eyes, it wasn't hard for them to guess that Fighter had heard their conversation.

„Seiya, I'm sorry" Healer whispered as she bowed in front of Princess Kakyuu.

„My Starlights, I come with sad news" Kakyuu adressed them with a sad look in her eyes. „I'm afraid I'm going to have to separate you for an undetermined time."

„What? Why?" the Starlights asked almost at the same time.

„Fighter, you must leave at once towards the Miranda Castle. I don't have time to give you more details, you'll learn more when you get there. It's a very urgent matter."

„Miranda Castle?" Maker realized the name was familiar and tried to remember where he had heard it before. She remembered that a couple of days ago he was reading a book on diplomacy in the Universe and that Miranda Castle was guarding a Sol planet. „It can't be? You're sending Fighter away... on planet Uranus?"

„Uranus? Princess, this could be a trap, the senshi of Uranus has always held a grudge on Fighter while we were on Earth and..."

„Healer, stop it. I doubt it's a trap, I think we parted in better terms."

„But Fighter, Healer is right..."

„Maker, I'm going, if that is what the Princess ordered." Deep in her heart Fighter was afraid of a trap, but she doubted Sailor Uranus would be so devious to use the Princess in her plot. Besides, the way it suddenly happened, after the nightmare she had, the fact that the Princess said she would be leaving for an indefinite amount of time, gave her the feeling that Uranus wasn't her real destination, but Earth and that something must have happened to her Odango.

Holding her Sailor Change Star she called without hesitation: „Fighter Star Power, Make Up!"

When her transformation was complete she bowed to the Princess and kissed her hand then she turned to Healer and Maker and smiled:

„I hope we'll see each other again soon."

Her Star Yell appeared in her right hand and she raised it above her head, while in her mind she invoked her power. With a sudden flash she turned a beam of red light which vanished upwards on her travel across space.

Healer and Maker followed the shooting star with their eyes until it was out of sight, then turned to the Princess, with tears in their eyes. During all these years of serving as guardian senshi for the Princess Kakyuu, it was the first time they were separated in a mission.

„Healer, Maker, come inside, I'll explain everything. Don't worry, depending on the outcome of things, you might join Fighter back on Earth."

„Earth?"

* * *

_Like I threatened you at the beginning, this is a second author's note to clarify something in case you've never read the manga, Don't kill me for spoiling it. _

_In the manga, all the senshi have their own castle on their planets, which they received at birth. For Sailor Uranus, it was Miranda Castle. She actually invoked the power of her home castle once, though not in the context of a teleport, like I used it. The part about her leading a solitary life comes from the manga as well, when her and Neptune say how lonely and hard life was on their planets. I think they mention it in the anime at one point, but I'm not completely sure about it. _

_Also, we never see an Uranus henshin sequence in Stars, but I believe it's safe to assume that since she had her Super Sailor Uranus form she called on her Crystal power to transform. In the manga she used it for sure, so I could say I borrowed that too._

_I think that covers all the alterations I've done to the anime universe with manga details._

_Chapter 6 coming soon I hope.  
_


	6. A Shooting Star Part 2

_I'm back with a new chapter. It took me longer to write it than I expected, I found myself rewriting some bits over and over for two times and I'm still not too happy. A huge thank you goes to **Diantha Glitter** again, for giving me some hints and hearing me ramble_ :)

_I hope no one was expecting a more creative title, but after all I did confess that this and chapter 5 were originally supposed to be just one chapter, so this is a way of expressing it (and show my lack of ideas)._

_I promise a nice chapter 7, I won't upload it until it's perfect. Trust me it's going to be nice, I won't spoil it._

_This fic is almost reaching its end so I'd like to hear what you guys expect to happen :) Though I have it planned out, I'm always ready for a change of plans :)_

_The usual disclaimers apply. Enjoy :)_

_

* * *

  
_

**Chapter 6 – A Shooting Star – Part 2**

Waiting all alone in her castle, her eyes fixed on some monitors... Uranus was remembering those long years she had spent her existence like that and she was starting to regret the fact that she offered herself to be the one that would comply to Mamoru's wish.

But... she just wanted to be alone so she could think about everything that happened that night. Everything had been so fast and so sudden that she barely had the time to assimilate the facts. As much as she tried she couldn't shake the enormous guilt she felt. She blamed herself for Usagi's state just as much as Mamoru did, probably even more, so she was there, facing the part of her past which she hated the most in a somehow desperate attempt to make that guilt go away.

„Koneko-chan, what have you turned me into?" she sighed as her face conveyed a bitter smile.

Uranus' attention was suddenly caught by a red flash of light which appeared on one of her monitors.

„Finally!"

With the push of a few buttons, the defense shield of the castle was deactivated and the wandering shooting star was soon able to land in front of the Miranda Castle. Though she had chosen to land near a place which seemed to her like an entrance, Sailor Star Fighter was surprised to see that the Uranian Castle didn't appear to have one or that its unique architecture had played tricks on her. Just as she was looking around wondering how to get in, a flash of energy emerged from inside, trapping her inside an orange sphere of light.

„_So they Healer and Maker were right, it was a trap?"_ she wondered as her Star Yell appeared in her hand and she got into her attack position. The light became so intense that Fighter had to close her eyes to resist it. When she opened them again she found herself in a very big room. She didn't have time to analyze her surroundings too well as she noticed Sailor Uranus was there, with her back pointed towards her, operating some computers. Not sure how she should react, she just kept her attack position.

„I'd put that down if I were you. You wouldn't want to know what can happen to you before you can even say the first word of your attack" Uranus spoke in her usual cold and stern voice.

Fighter stubbornly preserved her position. „Why did you attack me? Is this some kind of trap?"

Sailor Uranus sighed and turned towards Sailor Star Fighter. „Some things never change... still too rushed to judge things." She sighed, frustrated that she had to lose time on convincing Fighter that her intentions weren't evil. „The castles of the outer solar system senshi are true fortresses in many ways. In order to enter this castle you must be a Sol senshi or be accompanied by one. That energy sphere that you've mistaken for an attack was meant to safely get you inside. However I did mean it, you don't want to find out what the defense system is capable of if you try and fire an attack into this castle. It's nothing personal, it's just how it works."

Fighter still looked cautiously at Uranus and allowed his Star Yell to disappear from his hand. They had parted in better terms, but she was still suspicious of the intentions that motivated her to call her there all of the sudden. She finally decided to voice all of the questions on her mind.

„Why did you make the Princess send me here all of the sudden? Why did she sound like I might not be back to Kinmoku for a long time? What's going on?"

Uranus hesitated. She wasn't sure how much she should tell Fighter about what happened to Usagi, because she didn't want her to have an odd reaction. So she just decided to let her know as less as possible for the moment.

„Mamoru-san called you back to Earth. We need to go there, immediately" she bluntly spoke.

Earth? So she suspected right that the blue planet would be her real destination, but then why didn't she just tell her to go straightly there? And why would Mamoru, _her_ boyfriend, send for her? Something was definitely wrong, and Fighter could only think of one thing:

„Odango... something happened to her, didn it?" she raised her voice, drawing closer to the Uranian senshi who was keeping quiet and just avoided her look.

„That nightmare... she was in pain... she was... she was... dying... Please, tell me it was only a nightmare, please..." Fighter's eyes were full of tears and the fact that Uranus was still silent and avoiding her look only made her more worried and irritated. As anger rose inside her she grabbed Uranus by her shoulders and shook her, yelling „Just answer me already!" She realized that was a hasty move that, more than likely, would just make Uranus attack her, but when the senshi of wind turned her head towards her, when she met her eyes, her hand slipped of her shoulder and she drew one step behind. That look... that sorrow... the same look she saw on her face back that day... at that moment... when she and Neptune were living their last moments. _„I understand, she..."_

„I'm sorry" Fighter whispered. „Please, I need to know what to expect when I get there" she continued in the same whispered voice.

„Usagi...she had an accident and is now in a coma. We don't know when she'll wake up or if... if she'll wake up. I know you have many questions, but we don't have the time, you'll just have to wait until we get there."

Fighter didn't have the strength to focus on Uranus' last words. Her Odango in an accident? She might never wake up? That couldn't be. She had survived Galaxia and probably so many other previous enemies and now... now this? Tears were flowing down her face but she wiped them. She had to be strong, for Odango.

„Let's go" she urged Uranus.

* * *

Michiru was about to go upstairs and wake up Hotaru when a bright light invaded their living room. She rushed in just as the light faded to reveal Sailor Uranus and Sailor Star Fighter. Uranus had decided that the safest spot to teleport to, since she didn't know if they'd arrive by day or night, was her home.

„Haruka!" she rushed into her lover's arms. „What took you so long?"

„Long?" The light that came through the windows indicated her that it couldn't be later than 9 A.M. „It's only been a few hours, I..."

„You've been away for three days" Michiru interrupted and looked at Uranus and Fighter in concern.

„So much? How is she? Did she wake-up?" Though she couldn't understand how come she had been away for that long when to her it only seemed like she missed a few hours, she decided she could try and figure that out later and anxiously waited for some good news from Michiru.

Michiru's shook her head. „No... nothing has changed. The doctors are very concerned about her coma. Mamoru has stayed by her side almost all of this time, trying to use his powers to help her, but he has only managed to make himself weaker by the day. Even last night he fainted with exhausture again."

Uranus and Fighter were shocked by the news. They had wished so much to be greeted with good news, but their wish had been in vain.

„Let's not lose any more time, let's go" Uranus broke the heavy silence. As her henshin faded she stormed out the door towards the garage.

Fighter allowed his senshi henshin to fade away and resumed her male form. She wasn't sure why, but it just seemed like better to appear back like that in front of everyone, in front of her Odango. He stormed out the door following Haruka.

* * *

Usagi lied down in a hospital bed, her body connected to monitoring devices and other machines. She could breathe independently, but she still needed close attention since the doctors feared that the critical time was not over yet.

Kneeling at the side of her bed, Mamoru was holding her hand, focusing himself on his wish of making her feel better and wake up. Though he didn't manage to achieve that, he still managed to cure all the bruises and scratches on her body, so whoever didn't know the way she looked when she was brought to the hospital would have just thought that Usagi was taking a nap in that bed.

He turned his head when he heard the door open slowly and someone entering the room. His eyes followed the visitor as he went to the other side of the bed and took Usagi's other hand into his own. Then he heard him speak, without even raising his eyes from her.

„You didn't protect her..."

Mamoru's deep blue eyes expressed an infinite sadness. „Seiya, I'm sorry."


	7. Pieces of Memory

_To start on the same note as my chapter: I'm sorry :( I promised this chapter would be awesome, but instead you'll just find something dull in which nothing much actually happens. There is a solid reason for it. What I've posted now is just half or even less than it was intended to be. Since this introductory part came out so long, I decided to break the chapter, like I did with the previous ones. So now the precious scene between Seiya and Mamoru will have to wait for chapter 8, along with a dramatic cliffhanger. _

_I'd like to clarify one thing: __Seiya is in his male body, like we know him from the anime. But I use a feminine pronoun when it comes to the character, because she is in fact a woman in her soul. I'll use the masculine when it comes to her being perceived by the characters she interacts with. And hopefully, I won't mess up too much beteen the two genders._

_*facepalm* I can't believe I forgot to say a huge thank you to **Diantha Glitter** for beta reading a great part of this chapter :)  
_

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything, except for the idea._

_

* * *

  
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**Chapter 7 – Pieces of Memory**

Seiya also felt sorry.

Seiya felt sorry for Usagi. Tears filled her eyes as she watched her lying in that hospital bed. She had never imagined that Odango could look so vulnerable, so small, so helpless... Her golden hair was no longer styled into those odango-s which she loved so much. It was the first time she saw her like that and despite her state, she looked more beautiful than ever, she was as beautiful as an angel. She fought hard to keep her tears from falling.

Seiya also felt sorry for Mamoru. She had imagined that Mamoru was probably keeping a close eye on her, examining her every move, so she tried avoiding looking his way. But when she finally turned, she noticed Mamoru was back in the position she found him in when she entered the room: kneeling, holding tight to Usagi's hand.

Mamoru knew that Seiya wasn't yet aware of all the details of what happened, so he wouldn't know how deep the meaning of his apology would be. But still, he apologized to Seiya, to Usagi, to himself. He wished he could forget what happened, he wished he could lie to himself like he was told to lie to everyone else, but the memory of the accident was still burning inside his head. He still hoped that everything was just a nightmare and someone would wake him up. Just as he was about to give in to his despair, Mamoru felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around to see Seiya, whose eyes looked at him with pitty.

"We need to talk" Seiya told Mamoru in a voice which betrayed the fact that he was fighting to keep his tears back.

* * *

It took a while before the girls managed to convince Mamoru to leave Usagi's side for a few hours, but eventually he had to admit that a hospital room or even a hospital waiting room weren't the best place in which him and Seiya could have the much-needed conversation so he accepted to return to his apartment with the young Starlight. Setsuna drove them there and remained with the two men, as Mamoru asked for her assistance.

The three senshi were now sitting down into Mamoru's living-room, quietly, looking at each other, until Seiya decided to be the first to speak.

"How did this happen? How did she end up like that? Why did you call me here, Mamoru-san?" She realized he asked too many questions at once, but she couldn't help it, she had been waiting for a chance to ask them ever since she left from Uranus.

Mamoru nodded towards Setsuna and the time guardian stood up from her armchair. She extended her hands and her talisman, the Garnet Orb, appeared.

"Sei...Fighter..."

"It's Seiya. My name really is Seiya" she interrupted Setsuna, guessing that she was probably not sure if that name wasn't just a fake one she used while she accomplished her mission on Earth. Seiya, Taiki and Yaten were their real names, though since they started serving their Princess, everyone only addressed them as Fighter, Maker and Healer. Even between themselves they rarely used these names any more but they thought they would be appropriate to use when they arrived on Earth, even if they used them as surnames instead of given names, like they really were.

Setsuna smiled and resumed her speech. "Seiya, how much do you know about Usagi and specially about Usagi and Mamoru?"

Seiya thought for a while and then spoke: "Not too much. I know that Usagi is Sailor Moon and that she is also a Princess, because I have heard you guys addressing her like that. I also know that Mamoru is her boyfriend whom she loves very much, that he went to America to study but became Galaxia's target because apearently he is also a senshi, the one protecting this planet." Seiya didn't notice the tear that ran down Mamoru's face when she mentioned the love that Usagi felt for him.

"Seiya, in order to fully understand what happened to Usagi and why you were called here, you need to know more." As she spoke, her Garnet Orb began shining brightly, until its purple light completely filled the room. Seiya closed his eyes to adapt to the bright light but when he opened them he noticed that the three of them were no longer in Mamoru's apartment, but were standing in a location which he didn't recognize.

"Where are we?" he asked.

"The past. This is the Moon Kingdom, Silver Millenium. Usagi is Princess Serenity, the one that was supposed to inherit the throne along with the Silver Crystal and the sacred duty of protecting the Earth..." Setsuna started her story in a monotonous emotionless voice.

"... the Earth which had a second guardian, watching the planet from inside, from the sacred land of the Golden Kingdom Elysion...myself, Prince Endymion." Mamoru continued.

Seiya watched as many scenes rapidly took place before their eyes: Serenity and Endymion meeting, laughing together, kissing each other, being happy. Setsuna explained how their love was forbidden by the laws of both planets but, regardless, the two of them lived their love story in secret. Then Seiya witnessed that dreadful day when the Dark Kingdom destroyed the Moon Kingdom and when Serenity and Endymion lost their lives and were sent to Earth by Queen Serenity's last wish.

"_They loved each other even in their past lives. A love so strong that it transcended time..."_ Seiya thought. "_Why are they showing me this? What difference does it make that I know all of this?" _

Setsuna's Orb flashed again and the setting changed. Seiya now recognized their surroundings as nowadays Tokyo and just next to him a very enraged Usagi was yelling at Mamoru, who seemed to be making fun of her. She was intrigued by that and wished she could hear what they were saying to each other but in a flash other images replaced that one and Seiya witnessed Usagi's first transformation as Sailor Moon and Mamoru's first painful and involuntary transformation as Tuxedo Mask. When she saw Sailor Moon's first fight with an enemy and Tuxedo Mask's intervention, Seiya finally understood why Usagi had been so moved by that red rose she decided to use that day to distract the enemy.

"_A red rose..."_

Seiya was rather surprised by what she was seeing. Even if she couldn't hear anything and all the scenes flew by so fast, she found it obvious that Usagi and Mamoru didn't get along well at all until they remembered their past lives. She would have made a comment about it but decided to wait and see everything there was to see.

When the scenes arrived at the time Mamoru left for America, another bright flash of light from the orb blinded Seiya for a few moments. She opened her eyes to see something different, a still image of a palace which seemed to be made out of crystal. In front of it, she recognized Usagi and Mamoru, dressed in a very solemn way, holding a small girl with pink hair styled in those very familiar odango-s.

"This is...?" she whispered.

"This is the future" Setsuna replied, in a voice notably altered by sadness. Seiya looked at her and noticed that she was looking at the scene as if it was the last time she would see it, barely holding back her tears.

"This... _might _... be the future" Mamoru suddenly spoke, with his eyes fixed on the image. He didn't even realize he said that out loud, he just wanted to look at that scene and engrave it forever in his heart, as he knew that the future he knew would probably never come to life any more.

Feeling Seiya's questioning eyes gazing upon them, Setsuna explained:

"This is Tokyo City in the 30th century, Crystal Tokyo. Usagi and Mamoru have become Neo-Queen Serenity and King Endymion, sovereigns of the planet. And that... that is their daughter, Usagi, Princess Small Lady Serenity. This is the future they've learned they have due to some unfortunate circumstances."

"I don't understand. You've told me that seeing this will help me understand things better and all you've managed is to raise even more questions in my mind. It just seems to me like you're trying to convince me that I should stay away from Usagi." Seiya's words denoted her anger and confusion towards the whole situation. It made no sense at all to her why she was called to Earth because Usagi had an accident. That would have meant that Mamoru wanted her to be by Usagi's side. And now Mamoru and the Guardian of Time were just showing her how strong the love between Usagi and her Mamo-chan was.

"You will understand once you see this" Setsuna replied with a sigh while the Garnet Orb shone brightly once again. This time the three of them found themselves in a room in the outer senshi's house, where Usagi was lying in bed while Haruka, Michiru and Setsuna watched over her, saying that they have called her parents and Mamoru. Seiya was surprised how real everything looked, specially since this time she could hear everything that was being said. Mamoru was examining everything with the same attention as Seiya. Though it was painful for him, he desperately wanted to know what happened that night, he wanted to hear Usagi say everything Haruka had told the girls that she said.

Both Mamoru and Seiya were surprised and saddened to see how weak and exhausted Usagi looked when she got out of bed and they both instinctively moved to catch her when she fell into Haruka's arms.

„_Haruka-san, tell me ... why? Mamo-chan is back at my side, I know he never left me, I know he never stopped loving me... I should be happy, right? I am happy but... if I am... then why? Why do I still feel this big emptiness inside my heart? Why does my heart hurt so much every time I remember him, every time I think that he left and I'm never going to see him again? Why do I miss him so much, Haruka, why? Seiya..."_

Seiya gasped and her eyes widened with shock. Odango missed her? Odango felt miserable that she left? That couldn't be, Odango had feelings for her, her love might not be unrequited after all? She forced herself to pay attention to Michiru's words only to be even more shocked by what Usagi replied.

"_Acting silly... that's what I always do, isn't it? I'm just silly Usagi... Everyone just laughed and thought I was silly and naive when I told Seiya we'd be friends forever. What else could I say? Was I supposed to say that he is good enough? That I wanted him to stay? Should I have done that just to prove that I'm not just a silly girl who can't figure out a man's feelings for her?"_

Seiya's heart was beating so fast that she was afraid it would come out of her chest. He was good enough? She was good enough? Why didn't she say it sooner, why did she have to find out about it now that her blonde angel was lying helpless on a hospital bed? She looked at Mamoru expecting to see jealousy in his eyes, but the raven-haired prince just cried as Usagi's words were shattering his heart into millions of pieces. He didn't even seem to notice Seiya was there, looking at him.

"_Usagi, please, stop acting like this. You and Mamoru have a future together as Neo-Queen Serenity and King Endymion. The two of you have a duty towards this planet..."_

"_Stop it! Everyone thinks they can decide things for me, I can't take it any more! I'm tired of being reminded of this future I have with Mamoru, I'm sick of it! I'm tired of people reminding me that my duty as Sailor Moon, as Serenity, is to be at Mamo-chan's side! I want to be able to take my own decisions without anyone interfering and reminding me what my duty is! I'm sick of it! I wish I never knew what my future was, so I can be free at taking my own decisions! I hate the day Chibiusa came here! If it hadn't been for her, I would have never known! I don't want this future if I can't have a word to say about it! I don't want it! I hate it!"_

"Usako, I'm so sorry, Usako" Mamoru shouted as Usagi stormed out the door. In the same second him, Setsuna and Seiya were standing in the street just as Usagi was coming out the door.

"Stop it, Setsuna, please! I don't want to see this!" Mamoru pleaded between tears.

"No, please, I want to see all of it" Seiya pleaded as she was watching Usagi dash towards the street.

Mamoru crashed to his knees and hid his head in his hands, shaking his head, still whispering his plea towards Setsuna that she would stop and whispering desperate apologies towards Usagi. Turning between this scene and the sight of the dreadful accident, it wasn't long before Seiya understood why Mamoru reacted like that.

Her heart boiled with rage at the thought that the driver that ran over Usagi was none other than her beloved Mamoru. But at the same time, she pitied him. She didn't even dare to put herself into his shoes, but it wasn't hard to imagine how hard it must have be for Mamoru to live with the guilt.

Seiya realized that the illusion formed by the talisman was now gone and they were back into Mamoru's apartment. She allowed her body to fall down into an armchair while Usagi's last outburst was still echoing in her mind. Odango was doubting her feelings for Mamoru, she was attributing them to their past and the future she had learned they'd have? She had never imagined that Usagi's soul would be so burdened by her duty as a senshi and as a Princess. The way Odango had always spoken about Mamoru, how she missed him, that was not true love? Did she only force herself to love that man because of who they were in the past? After all, they seemed to dislike each other intensely until they found out who they really were. Things were finally starting to make sense. If Usagi felt that way, probably Mamoru had the same feelings, and just stayed by her side because of their past memories. That explained why he called her back to Earth. He just felt guilty for the accident and decided to leave Usagi to live her life with the one she really loved.

"You don't love her, do you?"


	8. Red Roses

_Here is the first chapter for which I've actually chosen an "original title". Cookies to anyone who guesses where I got the first seven chapter titles from ;)_

_I hope that Fighter doesn't Star Serious Laser me for this chapter, I tried my best to write her well, hopefully I managed to make it decent._

_I hope everyone enjoys this "duel" of the roses :)_

_I'd really like to thank everyone that has added this story to their alert list or favorite list. It really means a lot to me 3 I'd also like to thank those that have reviewed so far, though I've already thanked all of you in person. When you review this chapter, I have a little question for you: Seiya or Mamoru? I still need to decide on the ending, which, I must warn you, will come sooner than you think (only two chapters left, albeit long ones)._

_You know the disclaimer, no use repeating myself with it. Enjoy :)_

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**Chapter 8 – Red Roses**

When he heard Haruka talking about the things Usagi had said that dreadful night, Mamoru felt as if he were struck by lightning. But hearing Usagi say them herself, seeing the state she was in when she said them, the way she said them, it was too overwhelming for him. His world came crumbling down in a matter of seconds. Even though she said she still loved him, he couldn't blame her that she had developed strong feelings for Seiya. After all, the way he suddenly disappeared after he left for America only looked like he dumped her in the cruelest way possible. She couldn't have known what really happened to him, so it was natural that she would allow her heart to open up to someone else. But he was shocked that his Usako doubted her feelings to such an extent that she felt that she was being forced to stay by his side only because of her duty towards the future and because of their past life.

Mamoru stood on a sofa, hiding his head into his hands. Again he had no more tears to cry. He just waited for Seiya to scream at him, to hit him in anger because not only did he fail in his duty to protect Usagi, but he had been the one because of whom Usagi was now fighting for her life. He expected anything from Seiya but the question he heard.

"_You don't love her, do you?"_

He lifted his eyes and looked at Seiya with the face of someone who is spoken to in a language which they don't understand. He really did expect anything from Seiya, but he never imagined that he would question the sincerity of his feelings. Setsuna gave Seiya a similar look as she left the apartment, to leave the two men alone to settle this situation.

"You don't love her do you? That's why you called me here, you're giving her up to me. You never loved Usagi, did you Mamoru-san? It was just Tuxedo Mask loving Sailor Moon or better said Endymion loving Serenity" Seiya repeated her question in a cold unfriendly voice, as her piercing look fixed Mamoru.

When he heard the question again, something changed in Mamoru's facial expression. Now he seemed nostalgic but his eyes became determined as they met Seiya's and he started speaking slowly:

"After seeing all those images of the past, I don't blame you for thinking that way. Anyone would think that I hated Tsukino Usagi since all I did whenever she crossed my path was mock her, even insult her without caring that I might hurt her feelings... I had even managed to convince myself that I can't stand having her around me until that day..." he closed his eyes for a few second as the memories were once again flooding his mind.

"I had made a mistake and the enemy injured me and discovered my identity as Tuxedo Mask so they forced me to accept to walk into another one of their traps. As I was heading for the meeting point I met her, Usagi..." Mamoru smiled and his ocean-blue eyes sparkled like they did that day, even if happened so fast that she didn't notice it. "When I saw her... when I heard her say that she was worried because I appeared to be in pain... when I realized that it would more than likely be the last time I saw her golden hair and cerulean blue eyes... I realized that everything I did was in vain... I had tried so hard to push her away from me for nothing... somehow, with her smile and cheerful presence she had managed to break the wall I had built around my frozen heart and I had fallen in love with her... The thought that I might not see her again was so painful... But still I couldn't tell her my feelings, I couldn't get close to her because that would have made her a target for the enemy, and I could have never allowed that. I can't explain what I felt when I saw that she followed me right into the trap that was set for me, that she was in danger because she was worried about the cynical man who had been constantly teasing her for the past months." Mamoru paused for a few seconds, then continued in the same tone:

"I couldn't confess my feelings towards her in such a situation, with our lives threatened by the enemy. Later that day I saw her transform in front of my eyes... that sweet and fragile girl who always brightened my day was none other than Sailor Moon, the agent of love and justice whom I always helped in her fights against evil... I always felt such a powerful need to protect her... it was something that came from inside me, it would make me transform even if I didn't want to. I was beginning to understand that it was probably the power of love... but it was too late for anything. I remembered my past as I was dying in her arms, but I knew it even before I remembered... I knew it as clearly as I know it now..." Mamoru paused again and gave Seiya one of the most determined and sincere looks he had ever given anyone in his life:

"I love Tsukino Usagi, the normal schoolgirl, klutzy and with a huge appetite, it is her who my heart belongs to, regardless of anything that bound us in the past. I love her for who she is now and I will never cease to love her, not even after the day I die."

Seiya felt overwhelmed by Mamoru's look. She had no doubt that Mamoru had been completely honest in everything he just told her. She could see it in his eyes, on his face, she could hear it from the way Mamoru talked about that memory. Somehow she felt ashamed for questioning his love like that, but now that she had heard him speak the way he did, something else didn't make sense to her.

"Mamoru-san, you really love her, I shouldn't have doubted that. But if you love her that much, then why? Why did you call me here? Why do you seem willing to let her go?" Seiya sounded almost as if she was scolding him for doing that.

Mamoru smiled at the young man in front of him.

"Letting go of Usagi would destroy my life, but I'm willing to do it because I couldn't live with myself to know that she is by my side and there is even the slightest shadow of doubt in her soul about her feelings towards me. I don't want her to stay with me if she feels compelled to it by her duty. When you love someone as much as I love Usako, you're willing to do anything to see them happy, even if their happiness isn't by your side. Seiya, if you truly love Usako, I'm sure you can understand this."

"... to do anything just to see her happy..." Seiya whispered looking down. "This is why I left to Kinmoku-sei although I knew that the separation would make me feel miserable. I wanted her to be happy, with you Mamoru-san, because during all that time you've been away she always kept thinking about you and she never stopped loving you. I've always thought my feelings were one-sided, but now... now that I know that they might not be... I... I'm... I'm scared..." A tear fell down Seiya's cheek.

Now it was Mamoru's turn to be confused over Seiya's reaction.

"Scared? Why?" he asked in a friendly tone.

„_She wouldn't miss her, she would miss Seiya Kou, the man. Even if Fighter's love wasn't one sided, who do you think Usagi loves? The real Seiya or Seiya the man?"_

Healer's words suddenly came back to Seiya. That was the reason why she was afraid, that Usagi would only have feelings for her for who she had pretended to be.

"Mamoru-san, you know that this body is just a lie" Seiya started. "But despite having lied about my appearance, my personality, my feelings were always true, always reflected the real me... and still... I'm afraid that Usagi would have never thought I'm good enough for her if it wasn't for this illusion of a body. I know that it's not what defines me and I know that she saw beyond it but still... what if she realizes she was wrong about her feelings for me? That would hurt me too much..." And she was afraid about more things that she wasn't saying. If Usagi really chose her over Mamoru, that meant she would have to stay on Earth, away from Healer and Maker. They had never been apart since they started their duty as senshi. Although they bickered a lot when they were together, she couldn't imagine a life apart from them. She already missed them and she missed her Princess. And probably Usagi would want her to stay by her side as Seiya Kou, as a man...

Seiya looked up and saw Mamoru standing in front of him, offering her his hand.

"I'm afraid that being hurt comes together with being in love. But it's a little risk to take compared to running away and always asking yourself what would have happened if you didn't. Just some words from some guy."

Seiya knew that Mamoru was right. Smiling, she got up and accepted his handshake, surprised that she was finding someone to understand her into the man which had more reasons than anyone to hate her.

"The only answer to all of your doubts, and mine, is Usagi. Let's go back to the hospital, hopefully we'll have a miracle awaiting for us."

* * *

The miracle the two men were anxiously waiting for didn't happen while they were away. They spent that day, like the days that followed, kneeling by her side, holding her hands, two statues bowing down in front of a sleeping beauty.

One day, which didn't start in anyway differently from the others, as Mamoru almost fell asleep with his head resting on Usagi's hand, he was suddenly startled by Seiya, which gasped audibly and jumped on his feet, still holding to Usagi's hand.

"Did you... did you feel that?" Seiya barely managed to ask.

"Feel wha..." Mamoru didn't need to finish his word as he thought he felt Usagi softly squeeze his hand.

"Usako!" he exclaimed with a reaction almost identical to Seiya's.

Both men were now leaning above Usagi, waiting for a sign to prove them that what they felt wasn't just a figment of their own imagination, of their own hopes.

The joy they felt when they saw her move her head a little and frown was immense. Unable to speak, with tears running down their cheeks, they watched as their angel slowly opened her eyes and looked at them and at her surroundings.

"Where am I?" she whispered, pulling her hand away from Seiya's so she could rub her eyes.

"You're at the hospital" Seiya stuttered, completely crushed by the way she looked at him, with complete indifference and curiosity.

"The hospital?" she whispered, turning her head towards Mamoru and giving him the same look she had given Seiya. "Why am I here?"

"Usako, you had an accident, but everything is fine now" Mamoru smiled and kissed her hand.

"Usako?... Accident?" She pulled her hand away from Mamoru and drew it to her forehead.

"I... I..." Her blue eyes grew wide with fear and she started breathing rapidly. "I... I... "

"Odango, calm down, what's wrong?" Seiya asked, scared by her reaction.

Usagi was now crying and her body was shaking violently. Mamoru had frozen and barely managed to speak. Her reaction, the way she looked at him, at Seiya. It couldn't be, could it?

"Usako, what's wrong?"

"I...I... I don't... I... I... " she looked at the two men in front of her with fear and tried to speak, but a fierce pain in her head clouded her vision and she fainted, her hand falling down from her head, while tears still fell from her closed eyes.


	9. Irony of Fate

_Here it is, the penultimate chapter of my story. I know that after it's read it will seem odd that it's going to end so soon, but it also has a logic :)_

_Coming up, as soon as possible, the chapter which gives its name to the story: A Second Chance._

_I'm going to be sad when I finish writing this, since it's my first fiction in a while, and my first Sailor Moon fiction, but my hyper brain already has a new project involving my favorite characters, and this one is going to surely beat ten chapters by far._

_Disclaimer: Everyone probably knows that I don't own Sailor Moon, so I'm not sure why I feel the need to say it every time._

_Enjoy :)_

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**Chapter 9 – Irony of Fate**

The minutes passed painfully slow, turning into long hours of wait. In an almost perfect symmetry everyone was gathered in the same waiting room in which many of them have spent their days and nights ever since the accident. The perfection wasn't achieved because of two persons. Seiya was standing aside from the group, looking into the floors as if they held the answers to all the questions and confusion in his heart. Mamoru was leaning with his back against a wall, holding his hands clasped next to his face, as if he was absorbed into a silent prayer.

"_Usako, your eyes... that look... so scared, so confused... no, I shouldn't think of that"_

"Mother!"

The sound of Ami's voice caught everyone's attention and they looked to see Dr. Mizuno coming towards them. Anxious to hear the so much awaited good news, everyone got up and went in front of her.

"Dr. Mizuno, is she awake?" Rei asked impatiently, intrigued by the woman's sad expression.

"May we go see her?" Makoto immediately asked.

"I'm sorry everyone, but I'm afraid you won't be allowed to visit her for a while from now on" the doctor replied.

"Mother, why, what's wrong? Did her condition get worst?"

"Yes and no. She woke up from the coma and physically she recovered amazingly well after the accident but..."

"Then why did she lose consciousness again?" Seiya interrupted. "I'm sorry, please continue" she whispered as she felt many pairs of reproachful eyes directed at her.

Dr. Mizuno nodded. She understood their impatience, but she was trying to find the best words to give them the news.

"I'm afraid that the fact that she hit her head so hard into the accident has had some serious consequences. Your friend, Usagi-chan, has complete amnesia and we're still trying to determine whether it's permanent or not. She fainted from the shock of realizing she didn't remember anything. When she woke up she had another very bad reaction, we had to sedate her for fear that she would have a stroke. I'm sorry I couldn't bring you better news." As she spoke she watched how everyone's expressions turned from hopeful to shocked, but still she continued and told them all at once, it was the best way after all. She slowly withdrew after she spoke, since she could always give them more details later, through Ami.

Silence reigned for a few minutes. No one could find the words to speak.

"C...complete...amnesia...no...no..."

Everyone turned around at the chocked sound of Mamoru's voice. He was sliding down against the wall, shaking his head as if to chase away the news. His whole body was shaking and tears were streaking down his face.

Haruka and Seiya ran next to him and helped him get up and sit on a chair.

"Mamoru-san, calm down, please, for her sake" Haruka whispered.

But how could she ask him to calm down? "Complete amnesia". Those two words fell upon him like a giant thunder. They brought him back to that night, long ago, when he heard those words for the first time.

"This isn't happening, is it Haruka-san? I just imagined she said that, didn't I?" Mamoru asked without even looking at her. Haruka didn't reply, neither did anyone else. The inner senshi understood his reaction and watched him with sorrow and pitty.

Seiya and the outers were surprised by his reaction. Sure, it was bad news, but it might not be permanent. Plus, she was alive and healthy and this was the best thing in all of it.

"Why? What did she do to deserve this? To live inside the darkness... to doubt everything... even your name... that feeling of emptiness inside your head...inside your soul..." He started crying more violently than before "I'm guilty... in a few seconds... I took away sixteen years of her life... I've cast her into my own nightmare... the one I wouldn't have wished even for my worst enemy...why?...why?"

All the girls were crying at his words, even though not all of them knew their full meaning. Not even Seiya could keep his tears from falling.

"Mamoru-san, don't speak like that, please" Rei whispered.

"Why? Why do I always bring disaster upon her? Is this why I've warned myself to stay away from her? Are we cursed for breaking the sacred laws of our kingdoms?" he suddenly burst out, feeling crushed under the burden of his own past.

"Mamoru-san, please, let me take you home. You need to get yourself together so you can be of help to Usagi in these moments."

"Setsuna is right, Mamoru-san. Please" Makoto insisted and before he had a chance to deny their offer, they were already helping him get up.

Seiya watched as they left and wiped his tears. She wanted to ask something, but she didn't want to risk receiving disapproving looks again. Fortunately for her, the question came from Michiru.

"Poor Prince, such a sad past and such a sad present. Truly a cruel destiny for them. But his reaction... his words... His own nightmare? What did he mean by that?"

"Mamoru-san..." Rei started "Mamoru-san has complete amnesia, which he has never recovered from, not even after remembering his past in the Silver Millenium. He and his parents have been involved in a tragic car accident when he was six. He was the only survivor but when he woke up at the hospital, he couldn't remember anything about the first six years of his life."

"This must be awful for him. It's like a twisted game of fate that he should see the one he loves the most having to go through the same ordeal he's been through all of his life. Another car accident... and by his own hand..." Haruka spoke, ending her sentences with a sigh.

Seiya just watched in silence. Guilt was taking over her soul more than ever in her life.

* * *

"I still don't understand why we couldn't go see her. You said that she might remember is she's surrounded by familiar people" Minako sighed.

"Minako-chan, we need to be patient. Usagi-chan needs to accommodate herself with her family first, before finding herself with so many people surrounding her, telling her they're her friends. It's only been a week since she recovered from the coma" Ami replied. "She might be coming back to school in a few days, a week at the most, we'll get close to her then. Mother tells me she is feeling better, she has finally accepted her condition."

A week after she had recovered from her coma, Usagi was being released from the hospital. Since only her family had been allowed to go pick her up, Luna took advantage and summoned all the senshi to the Hikawa shrine. Seiya was present too. Rei had acomodated him into a spare guest room at the shrine since he returned to Earth, and now she and Luna insisted that he should be present to the meeting too, though she felt like an intruder among the senshi of the solar system. But since they insisted, she might as well take advantage and announce them a decision she had come to.

The starlight senshi stood aside from the main group and listened as Luna spoke:

"Everyone, we must bring Usagi's memories back. We can't allow her to forget that she is Sailor Moon and that she has an important duty towards this planet. Once she gets home, I'll try and use the power of the Silver Crystal to awaken her as a senshi and hopefully this will also restore her memories of this life and of the past..."

"No, Luna. You will not do it" a determined voice interrupted the black feline.

"Mamoru?" everyone wondered in unison, loking at him with wide eyes as he seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.


	10. A Second Chance

_Like I promised, here is the final chapter. However, the story doesn't end here. Read the author's note that follows the story if you think I just made no sense in what I said._

_This fiction has meant a lot for me. It got more reviews than my other ones ever did, more hits than my other ones ever did and the word count almost sums up the word count of all my previous stories. So I want to thank everyone that read, reviewed, added this to a favorite/alert list, it meant a lot to me since I have been scared to write again._

_I hope you enjoy reading this chapter :)_

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**Chapter 10 – A Second Chance**

"Mamoru, I can do it and I will do it" Luna answered back in an irritated voice. She could not believe that Mamoru would even dare to opose to the only chance they had of healing Usagi.

"No, Luna" Mamoru replied with a determined voice, making the senshi and Seiya look at him as if he were crazy.

"Mamoru, you don't want Usagi to recover her memories?" Luna asked in a reproachful tone.

Mamoru approached the group. "I do Luna, this is my greatest wish at this moment. But do you think it's fair that we force her to remember everything, that we awaken her to force her memories?"

Luna looked down as she could only agree with him. "But Mamoru, she is Sailor Moon, she is the future queen of this planet, her duty is too important for her not to remember it" she insisted.

"Luna, what is Usagi's greatest dream? You know it better than all of us, you were the closest to her during all of these years" Mamoru replied.

"Her greatest dream..." Luna started almost in a whisper "... ever since she defeated Queen Beryl she has only had one dream, one wish... to live a normal life...one in which she wouldn't have to worry about her senshi duty..." Her eyes were full of tears as she remembered how sad Usagi had been when she was forced to awaken her to fight the cardians.

"Usagi-chan... she has always fought to protect everyone's dreams, to help them turn those dreams into reality, she has constantly sacrificed her own dream for the benefit of everyone else..."

Everyone turned towards Makoto as she spoke and they noticed that she was crying.

"And now when she has a chance to see her dream come true, even if the circumstances aren't normal, we are selfishly thinking of a way to take this chance away from her..." Rei continued as tears streaked down her face.

"For Usagi, for everything she has done for everyone and specially for us, we should let nature follow its course and allow her memories to come back by themselves, Luna" Ami stated.

Mamoru looked at the three girls and smiled. He was relieved that they understood the logic behind his opposition to Luna's plan and that they had put into words all of the thoughts he had during that week since Usagi woke up.

Luna nodded in agreement, but Artemis wasn't yet fully convinced that it would be a good thing to do.

"But girls, Mamoru, we can't leave her like this for too much. What if a new enemy appears? And more, we can't ignore the fact that Sailor Moon will be needed to save this planet from a disaster and that she will become Neo-Queen Serenity..." Artemis was interrupted by Minako, who placed her hand on his mouth.

"If a new enemy comes, we can all try and fight him and only awaken her if it's absolutely necessary. As for the future..." Mamoru looked away into the horizon, visualizing the Crystal Palace and the image of the Neo-Queen, the King and their daughter. An image which will stay forever a beautiful memory engraved in his heart.

"Setsuna, you know what is supposed to happen and when it will happen." Setsuna nodded. "I know that you are forbidden to speak about it, but, if Usagi doesn't recover by then, hopefully you can warn Luna beforehand so she can awaken Usagi as a senshi."

"Yes, Prince. That wouldn't be a problem" Setsuna smiled.

"As much as I'd like Usagi to live a normal life for ever, she is the only one who will be able to save the planet, so her becoming Queen will be inevitable. But until the time comes, I want her life to be as happy as possible surrounded by all of your love and friendship." Mamoru enforced his last words by pointing in turn at Seiya and at the senshi.

"Mamoru... why do you talk as if... as if you were leaving her?" Michiru voiced the suspicion which had been born in her heart.

Mamoru sighed and replied to her question while he was looking at Seiya. "I'll always be around, watching over her happiness, protecting her, but I have to let her follow her heart. And if her heart wants you, Seiya, than I won't stand in your way."

"No, Mamoru-san. You don't have to do this. This is a second chance for you too, to prove that you really love Tsukino Usagi. I don't belong here, she doesn't even remember me, what use of me to stay? I just came to announce you guys that I'm going back to Kinmoku-sei."

"Seiya-kun, remember what I've told you. Do you want to run away from this oportunity to be together with her and live your whole life asking yourself how things could have been if you stayed? Or do you want to be by her side and allow her heart to decide if she wants to spend the rest of her life with you?"

Everyone looked at Mamoru in shock, specially Seiya. She just looked into his the eyes, surprised by all of the kindness that she was receiving from the man whose life she had indirectly destroyed. The seconds passed but she couldn't convince herself to speak, as much as she wanted to tell him that she wanted to stay.

"Baka Seiya, I can't believe he's taking so long to reply to such a tempting offer..."

"_That voice... No way..."_ Seiya turned around to make sure her ears weren't playing tricks on her.

"Yaten! Taiki!" she screamed and ran towards her two comrades who were standing close behind her, in their male form. She jumped and hugged them both at once, with such an enthusiasm that they almost fell down.

"Seiya, easy, you're creasing my suit. And we really don't have time for these things, we have a mission to accomplish here" Yaten frowned, pushing away out of Seiya's hug. Seiya looked at her in surprise, then at Taiki, who did the same gesture.

"A mission? What happened? Is the Princess okay? Fill me up on the details so I can help you..."

"Help us? I'm not sure about that, didn't the Princess send you here on a different mission?" Yaten replied.

Seiya's expression suddenly turned sad. So her fears were right, the Princess really separated them. Taiki noticed her change of mood and spoke:

"Don't be so harsh Yaten, it can't kill anyone if we tell him what the mission is about."

"Meh, if you say so..."

"Seiya, the Princess sent us back to Earth on what she said it would be our most important mission so far. We have to find someone..."

"Someone, who?" Seiya anxiously interrupted.

"Can you ever listen? Like Taiki was trying to say, we have to find someone and make sure that person stays out of trouble and doesn't do anything silly. Hmmm... I think Seiya might help us in a way after all. What do you think Taiki?"

Taiki nodded as Seiya looked at Yaten full of hope, happy that she wasn't completely excluded. "I'll help in any way I can. Who is that person?"

"A certain someone called Fighter, but we have strong reasons to believe she goes by the name of Seiya here on this planet." Yaten laughed and launched herself into Seiya's arms.

"Is this... a joke?" Seiya asked Taiki, completely confused.

Taiki laughed. "No, it's not a joke. Princess Kakyuu found out that your stay on Earth might be permanent so she sent us here to be by your side. She didn't have the heart to keep us apart..."

"... and she didn't trust you to behave and stay out of trouble. Looks like she was right and you are about to do something silly which you'll regret for the rest of your life" Yaten continued, looking into Seiya's eyes.

Seiya looked at her two best friends and understood from their looks that they wanted her to stay.

Yaten and Taiki walked towards the other girls, leaving Seiya and Mamoru slightly aside.

"Mamoru-san, you're right. If I leave now, I'll only regret it later. I'll stay and take advantage of this chance you're giving to Odango to find out which one of us she truly loves. It will be an honour being your oponent to her heart."

"I won't be an opponent, Seiya-kun. I won't try to conquer Usagi, she mustn't know that we were lovers. If I want her to be fair to her heart and to me, we must start things the way they were before she remembered the past. For Usako I'll just be the cold, mean guy whom she occasionally runs into and who ruins her day with a nasty thing to say. That is how she met me back then, this is how she will meet me now."

"Mamoru-san, this is crazy! If you do that, what if Usagi dislikes you and choses Seiya? She'll just have to leave him when the time comes for her to become Queen so she can marry you. This isn't fair to either of you!" Luna yelled.

"No, Luna. If Usako chooses Seiya, when she becomes Queen, he will be her King" Mamoru replied, his face reflecting all the sorrow that took over his soul when he remembered the future that he might never know.

"Mamoru, that is insane! You were the Prince of this planet, you are its rightful sovereign!" Artemis spoke in a very serious tone.

"Rightful? Who is more rightful? The one whose only merit is his bloodline heritage, or the one who has risked her life countless times to defend this planet?"

"But Mamoru-san, if you do this... if you do this... Chibi-Usa will never be born. You can't do this, you can't!" little Hotaru shouted, bursting into tears. Haruka and Michiru wanted to comfort her but before they moved, Mamoru was by her side, wiping her tears, though he was crying just as hard himself.

"Hotaru, I understand how you feel, I know that she was your best friend. It hurts me to know that I might never meet my daughter, that she might never exist, but her memory will always be alive in my heart. The thought that we could meet her, the memories of the times we spent together, those will always remain in our hearts, regardless of what the future will bring."

Mamoru wiped his tears and noticed that everyone had tears in their eyes.

"Don't be so sad girls, Usagi deserves this. In two years she has been through more things than some people go through in a lifetime. Now she can start things over from nothing, without being bound by a past, by a future, by a duty too heavy for such a fragile girl. Now she will only have her heart to listen to, like she should have done weeks ago. It's her last chance to live her life and to find out who does her heart belong to. You should be happy for her. She needs you to be happy, by her side, to brighten her life and make her go through her condition with a smile on her face."

Sol senshi, Stalight senshi and the two guradian cats, they all listened to Mamoru's words and admitted that he was right. They all watched as he wiped his tears one more time, smiled for the last time, then turned around and started descending the long stairway of the Hikawa Shrine. The sun was setting over Tokyo City and over the heart of the raven-haired Prince.

"_Mamoru-san, even in this life, although born as a normal person, your are still noble in your heart. You are giving away your happiness, your kingdom, everything, for the sake of her happiness. This is true love. The things I'm willing to give away to be with Odango mean nothing compared to what you are willing to give up to. My love for Odango will never match up to yours. _

_Odango, I hope your love for him was true, I hope you realize how much he loves you. Even if it hurts me, I hope you chose him. Even if you thought otherwise, I, Seiya, I, Fighter, am not good enough..."_

**The End**

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A/N: **_Probably you would have expected to find out if Usagi chooses Mamoru or Seiya. I didn't want to answer this dilemma in the main body of the fiction. I'll leave it up to everyone's imagination and preference to imagine how things could go in Usagi's new life.  
_

_Since I have my personal option and version of how things could go if such a thing would have ever happened in the Sailor Moon universe, I will be writing an eleventh chapter, which, in fact, will be an epilogue to the story, taking place some time after the main story. So, in a day or two, keep an eye out for it, it will be sweet. Obviously only one will be the winner and the fans of the other won't be pleased, but you can't please everyone :)_

_So keep an eye out for **Epilogue: The Chosen** ;)  
_


	11. Epilogue The Chosen

_Here is the epilogue to the story. I'm sure some of you will hate, if not for the choice, at least because I am relatively disastrous at writing things in a romantic way and at keeping things mysterious without confusing people._

_The diary entries are intentionally formatted this way ;)_

_I hope it's enjoyed. And if you hate it, just pretend it doesn't exist into the story. Take it as my unofficial sequel :)_

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**Epilogue – The Chosen**

"_Dear Diary,_

_Today isn't the day when I give you up either. _

_I'm not strong enough... I'm scared to stop writing. _

_I'm afraid that if I stop keeping track of my life, something will happen and I will forget everything again... Like I did almost four years ago..._

_What if I give this routine up and something happens? _

_I don't want to rely on the stories of the past that others tell me. _

_I wonder how it would be like not to remember anything about your life and be all alone_

_to have no family and friends to support you? _

_It must be terrible..._

_I don't know if I would have made it through without my parents, my brother, my friends._

_I feel blessed that I have so many friends to show me their love every day..._

_Ami-chan_

_Rei-chan_

_Mako-chan_

_Minako-chan_

_Haruka-chan_

_Setsuna-san_

_Michiru-san_

_Uranus-san_

_even Seiya-kun, Taiki-kun and Yaten-kun... how odd... being a friend with three former idols..._

_They always make me smile and support me, but..._

_sometimes_

_I can see it in their eyes_

_they give me sad looks_

_they look at me with pitty..._

_I know that they don't mean to do it_

_but can I blame them for feeling sorry for me?_

_I can even see it in his eyes_

_Mamoru-san..._

_He always calls me names_

_teases me_

_he's cold_

_cynical_

_mean_

_arrogant_

_and thinks very low of me..._

_He always ruins my day with his remarks_

_destroys the self-confidence I try so hard to build..._

_... but he knows, I can even see it in his eyes that he knows..._

_the same sadness and pitty..._

_at least it doesn't stop him from being a jerk._

_Why can't he be more like Seiya-kun? _

_He's always so attentive with me_

_so kind_

_so considerate_

_always encourages me_

_always has a good word to brighten up my day_

_when I'm with him I feel so happy_

_he's a great friend..._

_Diary of mine, why do I insist on fooling myself?_

_That black hair_

_those deep blue eyes_

_his face_

_always in my heart and in my dreams_

_when he's around me, I have butterflies in my stomach..._

_I love him._

_There, I've said it. _

_I LOVE HIM!_

_I want to tell him how I feel, but I'm scared._

_What if he laughs in my face and rejects me?_

_What if he accepts me out of pity?_

_So many what ifs..._

_I've made up my mind. Tomorrow, as soon as I see him, I'll tell him how I feel, I'll take my chance, whatever might happen. I'm scared of his reaction, but even more scared of the thought that each chance I waste might be my last one._

_I promise that tomorrow, this will be the main event that I write on this piece of paper."_

"You've broken your promise towards your silent friend" she heard him whisper into her ear as she felt his hands lying delicately on her shoulders.

"Feeling nostalgic again?"

She leaned her heard to the side, her cheek touching his warm hand.

"You're right, I did break my promise" she whispered, taking a pen into her hand. "Better late than never, right?" She turned the page and started writing.

"_Dear Diary,_

_Dear Silent Friend,_

_I'm sorry I ignored you for such a long time, you have been my confidant for almost four years._

_It's never too late to mend a broken promise, so I'll tell you what happened that day when I decided to reveal my feelings. I owe you this much._

_That day I went to the park and sat on a bench for some hours, trying to build up courage, thinking of everything he has meant to me during those four years._

_And at one point, when I looked up, I saw him on another bench, in the distance._

_I got up and walked towards him._

_My heart was beating so fast that I thought it would jump out of my chest._

_I called his name_

_I closed my eyes_

_I told him "I Love You"_

_I opened my eyes to see the shocked look on his face_

_I got scared_

_and I ran away._

_Then my clumsiness showed itself in all its glory._

_I slipped on God knows what and fell on my back, hitting my head against the concrete alley of the park._

_A sharp pain._

_And it happened. _

_Memories came flooding back to my mind, 16 years returning to me in the few minutes during which I've been out. _

_I could remember,_

_my life was back,_

_and my heart was confused._

_It didn't add up,_

_why did he leave me?_

_Why did he act the way he did?_

_I woke up in his arms,_

_tears flooded my eyes,_

_all I could say was "Why?" _

_as I pulled away and ran home._

_I spent the next few days alone locked in my room, trying to find an excuse_

_trying to mend my broken heart._

_I finally knew who my heart belonged to_

_and I told him how I felt when it was too late._

_I accepted Setsuna's visit and she showed me everything_

_everything that happened after my accident_

_and I understood him  
_

_I cried..._

His gloved hand caressed her cheek, wiping away her tears.

She got up from her chair and launched herself into his arms, hiding her face into his chest. He drew her closer, covering her with his lavender cloak, the colour of sunset.

"I'm sorry" she whispered.

"You have no reasons to be, my love."

"I do... I'm sorry for having having doubted my heart, my feelings, for having made you suffer so much. I've loved you all along, I've loved you for who you were, not for who you had been, not for who you would have been. I love you, Mamo-chan..."

"Usako, I love you too..." he whispered back. He grabbed her by the chin and lifted her head, his deep blue eyes meeting her cerulean blue eyes, their lips meeting in a kiss.

"Thank you, Mamo-chan" she whispered after they parted from their kiss.

"What for, my odango?" he smiled, playing with her hair.

"Thank you for giving me that normal life I've always wanted, even if it didn't last for too long. Thank you for loving me so much that you've lived four years alone and sad just to see me happy. Thank you for loving a klutzy cry-baby like I was..."

She stopped as he gently placed his finger on her lips.

"No, thank you for loving a cold, cynical, arrogant and mean man like I was before you walked into my life. And like I became again after I allowed you to walk out of my life. Thank you for breaking the wall I've built around my heart. Thank you for being the sunshine into my life."

He held her tight in his warm embrace, feeling hear heartbeat, feeling the life that was growing inside her. A tear slipped down from underneath his white mask.

The sun was shining brightly over Crystal Palace and over their hearts.


	12. Teaser: Ray of Light

**_A.N._**_ I have to say that after a great while of having an author's block with my other projects, I was surprised to find myself with an idea deriving from this story. When I originally wrote the Epilogue, I was imagining that the only possible way I would continue the story would be by making an alternate ending in which Usagi choses Seiya. But my muse decided on a separate fic focusing on Seiya and what she went trough during the four years she spent on Earth and on what happens to her after Usagi recovers from her amnesia and choses Mamoru again. Though I haven't yet started work on the new fic, this is a snippet from one of its chapters, written vaguelly enough to stir up curiosity. I hope it will be enjoyed and keep on the lookout for the new fiction, **Ray of Light**. Hopefully the first chapter will be up by the end of the week-end :)_

_Enjoy!_

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**Teaser – Ray of Light**

The first delicate rays of light of the morning sun entered through the windows of a small and simple room, their soft light slowly piercing through the thick veil of a very peaceful sleep.

Seiya didn't want to open her eyes just yet. Just like it happened every morning, she tried to stay asleep a bit longer, fighting her habit of waking up immediately after dawn. But her brain and body slowly registered the fact that something was different that morning. As she was sleeping on her side, her hand was affectionately and protectively wrapped around somebody's waist, keeping the other body so close to her that she could feel its warmth and its faint breath against her chest. For a brief moment she wondered if it was a dream or if it was real, but she slowly remembered everything that had happened the night before and, upon realizing where she was, her eyes fluttered open.

The dark-haired Starlight smiled as her gaze fell on the sleeping woman she held in her arms. Her eyes moved across the sleeping form, registering every detail, from the way her hair fell into her face as she slept on her side, inches away from her, to the way her chest barely seemed to move to the slow rhythm of her breaths. Seiya had seen her far too many times before, but somehow, that morning, it felt like she had just woken up from a sleep that had lasted for years and she was truly seeing the woman. She looked so vulnerable and peaceful when she was asleep, so delicate, like a fairy which one wouldn't dare touch, for fear that she would disappear. Not only did Seiya realize that the woman which she was holding so close was, indeed, very beautiful, but she also realized that she had never felt so calm and happy before just by holding someone in her arms, just by watching them sleep. Seiya slowly understood that she couldn't really wish for more, that, for her, waking up like that every morning would have meant true happiness, everything she could ask for from life.

She was in love. Seiya smiled and moved her hand to slowly brush away some strands of hair from the other woman's face, leaning in to place a soft kiss on her forehead. Only now was she understanding that she had loved her for quite a while now, that their friendship had slowly turned into deeper feelings from her side.

However her smile slowly faded away and sadness clouded her eyes when she realized that she didn't know how to confess her feelings, specially after what she had heard last night. She was bold when it came to love, but now she didn't even have the courage to stay there until the other woman woke up, she feared of her reaction to just seeing her there. Sighing, Seiya wondered if it was too late for her again, if she had realized she was deeply in love only to find herself lost into a one-sided love again.


End file.
